Christmas Fun

We had a special Christmas, and we hope you did too. Donna’s sister and family came for a long-awaited visit. Carl and Suzy Haines, and daughter, Kimmy spent Christmas with us in the tribe. They had a great time, and the Palawanos really enjoyed them too. I want to share some of the pictures from their visit with you.

Several times during their stay, God winged a bright little gift our way. One of the Palawano’s pet parrots flew across the river and alighted on our windowsill. Kimmy is feeding it a cracker.

Christmas Eve was a big day. Palawano church, followed by a church potluck. How many kinds of sticky-rice treats do you know how to make? We were able to sample three or four different ones. Then a time of games, both inside the church building, and outside on the airstrip. The kids got a kick out of learning to play croquet.

Carl, Bill, Suzy and Kimmy gather around the table for Christmas dinner. We were missing Tyler, our nephew, and Elisa and Chris and Bethy, who didn’t get to come this year. And of course, we thought and talked about our Mom and Dad. This is our first Christmas with both of them gone.

And here I am in my kitchen, in a photo Suzy took.

As we walked around visiting with different people, the Haines got to experience different slices of Palawano life. Here three women work together pounding rice. They really get a rhythm going when three pound together. Suzy tried her hand at pounding, and found out how heavy those big wooden pestles really are.

Kimmy was a favorite with the kids. She taught art classes to a bunch of them while she was here.

After a great week, we flew out of the tribe together, and traveled to another of God’s beautiful spots of Creation, the Underground River in the northern part of Palawan. We are so thankful for the Haines, and their visit. We hope they will come back soon!